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It's a minor miracle they got anything in return for Palmer from the Arizona Cardinals.

The quarterback didn't want to play in Oakland. He wasn't amenable to taking a pay cut from the team because he would have preferred making even less money to go elsewhere. Once the Raiders knew Palmer wasn't on board, they had to get rid of him.

I assumed they simply would have to cut Palmer. His onerous contract and lackluster play on the Raiders did not make him an attractive trade candidate. New Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie moved up 43 picks from the seventh round to the sixth round, plus he picked up a conditional seventh-round pick in 2014. Fine.

Those picks probably won't make a difference for the Raiders, but McKenzie, smartly, is in slash-and-burn mode. He's making up for the significant mistakes of Raiders past.

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The ridiculous trade for Palmer in 2011 -- sending a first- and second-round pick -- is the type of move McKenzie never would make. (Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown, meanwhile, retroactively should be given the 2011 Executive of the Year award.)